The Hockey Nuts Podcast, Season 2, Episode 36 is live!

Coming up on this episode of the Hockey Nuts, Steve and I get you caught up with all of the news of the past week around the hockey world. The NHL playoffs are wrapping up round 2 and heading into round 3. Steve and I will get you caught up with everything that has happened in each series. Plus, we will also Preview Round 3. We’ll have the details of all this plus the Minor League Hockey Minute, The NCAA hockey minute and our picks of the week

Rod Brind’Amourwas named coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Don Waddell was also named Carolina president and general manager. Brind’Amour, 47, an assistant and development coach for Carolina since June 7, 2011, will replace Bill Peters, who resigned April 20 and was hired as coach of the Calgary Flames three days later. Brind’Amour was captain of the Hurricanes when they won the Stanley Cup with a seven-game victory in the Final against the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. “Rod is the greatest leader in the history of this franchise and has earned the opportunity to take charge of our locker room,” Waddell said. “We spoke to a number of candidates for this position, but our conversations with staff and players consistently returned to the same person. Rod’s fresh ideas, ability to motivate, and understanding of what it takes to bring a championship to Raleigh will help our young team take the next step toward competing to bring the Cup back to North Carolina.” Brind’Amour played 20 seasons in the NHL for the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers and Hurricanes. A two-time winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward, he retired June 30, 2010, with 1,184 points (452 goals, 732 assists) in 1,484 NHL games. “I’m excited for Rod to have that opportunity,” Hurricanes forward Justin Williams, who played with Brind’Amour on Carolina’s 2006 Cup-winning team, told The News & Observer on Tuesday. “He’s seen so much, so many coaches in his time, he’s learned from them, he deserves a chance to make it his own. I’ve got a lot of time for Rod. He means a lot to me in my hockey career. Absolutely, I’m going to endorse him.”

Jim Montgomery was hired as coach of the Dallas Stars on Friday. The 48-year-old has coached the past five seasons at the University of Denver and won the NCAA championship in 2017. He replaces Ken Hitchcock, who retired April 13. Montgomery said he wants the Stars to push the pace and pressure opponents. “For the Dallas Stars fan, if you can think of an adjective of what we’re going to look like, it’s going to be relentless,” Montgomery said. “We’re going to be a puck-possession team and we’re going to try and make plays everywhere on the ice. When we don’t have the puck, we’re going to pressure you so we can get it back and make more plays. “I think you look at the championship teams that have won in the NHL. … The teams play a certain way. There’s structure to their game but there’s creativity and flair to it too. You have to let horses run. Everyone should look the same when we don’t have the puck, and when we do have the puck, everyone should play to their strengths.” Montgomery is the fourth coach to go directly from college to his first NHL job, joining Philadelphia Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, who came from the University of North Dakota in 2015; Bob Johnson, who went to the Calgary Flames from the University of Wisconsin in 1982; and Ned Harkness, who took over the Detroit Red Wings in 1970 after coaching at Cornell. Among the NHL players who played for Montgomery are New Jersey Devils defenseman Will Butcher, Boston Bruins forward Danton Heinen, Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry, and Florida Panthers forward Henrik Borgstrom. Montgomery played pro hockey for 12 seasons, including 122 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Stars. https://www.nhl.com/news/jim-montgomery-named-dallas-stars-coach/c-298396532

Cory Schneiderof the New Jersey Devils is expected to miss training camp in September, and perhaps the start of next season, after having surgery May 1 to repair torn cartilage in his left hip. The Devils said the 32-year-old goaltender will need about five months to recover. He missed 16 regular-season games with a groin/hip injury sustained in a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 23, and went 0-10-2 with a 4.04 goals-against average and .863 save percentage in 12 games prior to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Schneider replaced Keith Kinkaid for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round and made 34 saves in a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. New Jersey lost the best-of-7 series in five games.

Left wing Taylor Hallis expected to be ready for the start of camp after he had surgery April 30 to repair torn ligaments in his left hand. The 26-year-old was injured in late December. He had 18 goals and 20 assists during a 26-game point streak from Jan. 2-March 6 (he missed three games from Jan. 22-25 with a thumb injury), and went on a 19-game point streak (13 goals, 13 assists) to set a Devils record after returning from the injury. He had a nine-game run (eight goals, nine assists) from March 18-April 3.

Forward Patrick Maroon had surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back May 2. The Devils said the 30-year-old will be able to resume offseason training and preparation programs before the start of camp.

Boston Bruins forward David Backes will not return for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday after sustaining an injury in the second period. Backes was injured when he was hit by Lightning forward T. Miller at 12:17. He laid motionless on the ice with a trainer tending to him for more than a minute, then was eventually helped up and off the ice by teammates Jake DeBrusk and Kevan Miller before he was aided by two trainers down the tunnel to the dressing room. Backes played 14 shifts totaling 6:53 before the injury. He has three points (two goals, one assist) in 12 playoff games for the Bruins after finishing the regular season with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 57 games.

Torey Krugwill not play for the Boston Bruins for the remainder of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, starting with Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS) because of a left-ankle injury. Krug reportedly was seen leaving TD Garden using crutches and with his foot in a walking boot following the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4 on Friday. He was injured when he went ankle-first into the boards with Lightning forward Alex Killorn behind him at 8:30 of the third period. Krug is fourth on the Bruins with 12 points (three goals, nine assists), including seven assists on the power play.

Other Bruins players were injured before the Lightning series. Center Patrice Bergeronsaid he played through a groin injury, which sidelined him five games in October. He’s hoping a few weeks of rest will allow him to avoid surgery. Forward Riley Nash played through a hip injury that he hopes will heal without surgery, and said he missed the final five games of the regular season and first two games of the playoffs because of a concussion. Forward Jake DeBrusk (shoulder), defenseman Zdeno Chara (shoulder/finger) and forward Brad Marchand (groin) also are hoping to heal through rest rather than surgery. One Bruins player who does need surgery is forward Noel Acciari, to repair a sports hernia/groin injury.

Zach Werenskicould miss training camp and the start of next season with the Columbus Blue Jackets after having shoulder surgery Thursday, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. Full recovery for the defenseman is expected to take 5-6 months.

Brad Marchandof the Boston Bruins was put on notice by the NHL on Saturday that his actions in the second period of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday were unacceptable and that similar behavior in the future will be dealt with by way of supplemental discipline. The forward and Bruins general manager Don Sweeney spoke Saturday with NHL senior executive vice president Colin Campbell. Marchand this season was suspended five games for elbowing New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson on Jan. 23, and was fined $5,000 for cross-checking Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Andrew McDonald on April 1. Marchand also was suspended two games at the end of last season for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin; three games for clipping Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki in 2015-16; two games for slew-footing New York Rangers forward Derick Brassard in 2014-15; and five games for clipping Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo in 2011-12. Marchand ranks fourth in the Stanley Cup Playoff scorers with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 11 games. He was Boston’s leading scorer in the regular season, with 85 points (34 goals, 51 assists). https://www.nhl.com/news/brad-marchand-ready-to-change-behavior-in-future/c-298541374

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilsonhas been suspended for three games for an illegal check to the head of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Zach Aston-Reese during Game 3 of the teams’ Second Round series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, May 1, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced last Wed (after we recorded). The incident occurred at 9:38 of the second period.

Bill Torrey, the architect of the New York Islanders dynasty in the early 1980s and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, died Wednesday. He was 83. Torrey was serving as a special adviser to the general manager and an alternate governor of the Florida Panthers, the team he worked for since leaving the Islanders in 1992. “Bill was the first employee, general manager and architect of one of the greatest dynasties in NHL history: the New York Islanders, winners of four straight Stanley Cups,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “He was the first president of the Florida Panthers and built the organization into one of the most successful expansion franchises in League history; the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final in just their third season of existence. And his imprint is on virtually every team in our league, as he personally mentored and inspired generations of NHL general managers who have followed him and established the team-building blueprint based upon scouting, drafting and player development that today remains the model for lasting success. Torrey, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995, leaves a legacy few hockey executives can match. After being hired by the Islanders as their first employee on Feb. 15, 1972, Torrey began surrounding himself with people on and off the ice who built a franchise that would win 19 consecutive Stanley Cup Playoff series, a record for any major North American sport. With the help of Hockey Hall of Fame member Jim Devellano, Torrey constructed one of the greatest dynasties in the history of professional sports. The first piece arrived at the NHL Expansion Draft in 1972, when the Islanders selected goaltender Billy Smith. With the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NHL Draft, the Islanders chose defenseman and future captain Denis Potvin. When Potvin and his teammates reported to camp before the 1973-74 season, they were greeted by arguably the most important hire of Torrey’s time with the Islanders, coach Al Arbour. By 1975 the Islanders were an NHL force. They upset the New York Rangers in the NHL Preliminary Round on an overtime goal by J.P. Parise at Madison Square Garden, then trailed 3-0 in the NHL Quarterfinals before defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, becoming the second team in NHL history to win a series after losing the first three games, New York nearly did it again in the NHL Semifinals, trailing 3-0 before losing to the defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7. Torrey added two crucial pieces at the 1977 NHL Draft when he selected Mike Bossy (No. 15) and John Tonelli (No. 33) in the first two rounds. Bossy went on to be one of the most prolific goal-scorers in NHL history, with 573 in 10 seasons. Tonelli provided plenty of grit and a knack for scoring timely goals. New York won its first of four straight Stanley Cup titles May 24, 1980, when Nystrom scored in overtime in Game 6 against Philadelphia. The Islanders won again in 1981, 1982 and 1983, and advanced to the 1984 Cup Final, losing to the Edmonton Oilers. Their 19 consecutive series victories are an NHL record. Torrey was named president of the expansion Panthers on April 19, 1993. Three years later, the Panthers became the fastest post 1967-expansion NHL team to reach the Stanley Cup Final; they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

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